Human impact

In 1964,
Israel began operating a dam that diverts water
from the Sea of Galilee, a major Jordan River water provider, to
the National Water Carrier.Also in 1964, Jordan constructed a channel
that diverted water from the Yarmouk River, another main tributary of the Jordan River.
Syria has also built reservoirs that catch the Yarmouk's waters.
Environmentalists blame Israel, Jordan and Syria for
extensive damage to the Jordan River ecosystem.

In modern times, the waters are 70% to 90% used for human purposes
and the flow is much reduced. Because of this and the high
evaporation rate of the Dead Sea, the sea is shrinking. All the
shallow waters of the southern end of the sea have been drained in
modern times and are now salt flats.

In September 2006, a problem arose with contamination: just
downstream, raw sewage began flowing into the water. Small sections of the
Jordan's upper portion, near the Sea of Galilee, have been kept pristine for baptisms.Most
polluted is the 60-mile downstream stretch - a meandering stream
from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. Environmentalists say the practice has
almost destroyed the river's ecosystem.
Rescuing the river could take decades, according to
environmentalists. In 2007, Friends
of the Earth Middle East named the Jordan River as one of the
world's 100 most endangered ecological sites, due in part to lack
of cooperation between Israel and the neighboring Arab
states.

Importance

Transport

Route
90, part of which is named after Rehavam Zeevi, connects the northern and
southern tips of Israel and parallels the Jordan River on the
western side.

Biblical importance

Tanakh

In the Bible the Jordan is referred to as the
source of fertility to a large plain ("Kikkar ha-Yarden"), and it
is said to be like "the garden of God" (Genesis ). There is no regular description
of the Jordan in the Bible; only scattered and indefinite
references to it are given. Jacob crossed it and
its tributary, the Jabbok (the modern
Al-Zarqa), in order to reach Haran ( ,
). It is noted as the line of demarcation between the "two
tribes and the half tribe" settled to the east (Numbers ) and the "nine tribes and the half
tribe of Manasseh" that, led by Joshua,
settled to the west ( , passim).

Opposite
Jericho, it was called "the Jordan of Jericho" ( ;
). The Jordan has a number of fords, and one of them is famous as the
place where many Ephraimites were slain by Jephthah (Judges ). It seems that these are the same
fords mentioned as being near Beth-barah, where Gideon lay in wait
for the Midianites ( ). In the plain of the
Jordan, between Succoth and Zarthan, is the clay ground where Solomon had his
brass-foundries (1 Kings ).

In biblical history, the Jordan appears as the scene of several
miracles, the first taking place when the
Jordan, near Jericho, was crossed by the Israelites under Joshua (
). Later the two tribes and the half tribe that settled east of the
Jordan built a large altar on its banks as "a witness" between them
and the other tribes ( , , et seq.). The Jordan was crossed by
Elijah and Elisha on
dry ground ( , ). Elisha performed two other miracles at the
Jordan: he healed Naaman by having him bathe
in its waters, and he made the axe head of one of the "children of
the prophets" float, by throwing a piece of wood into the water ( ;
).

The New Testament speaks several times about Jesus crossing the
Jordan during his ministry ( ; ), and of believers crossing the
Jordan to come hear him preach and to be
healed of their diseases ( ; ). When his
enemies sought to capture him, Jesus took refuge at Jordan in the
place John had first baptized ( ).

Gallery

Image:Aerial jordan.jpg|Northern part of the Great Rift
Valley as seen from space (NASA)Image:Jordan river.jpg|The Jordan
RiverImage:Yarden 0182.JPG|Image:Yarden 034PAN2.JPG|Image:Route
ninety.jpg|Road signImage:Hayarden.jpg|Image:Pesah 129.jpg|In
springImage:BnotYaakovBridge.JPG|Jordan River just
south of the Bnot
Ya'akov Bridge (May 2009)

Symbolic importance

Because
the Israelites made a difficult and
hazardous journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom
in The Promised Land, the Jordan can refer to
freedom. The actual crossing is the final step of the
journey, which is then complete. The Jordan also can signify death
itself, with the crossing from life into Paradise or Heaven.